Lantau Island (大嶼山)

• Ngong Ping 360
• Po Lin Monastery
• Tian Tan Buddha
• Wisdom Path 

Ngong Ping 360 is one of Hong Kong’s newest attractions. The cable car takes you from the terminal in Hong Kong to Ngong Ping Village in Lantau Island, allowing an aerial view of the lush verdant landscape surrounding the bronze Tian Tan Buddha. At Ngong Ping village, you can explore the various attractions: Walking with Buddha and Motion 360.

Nearby you can ascend several steps to the Tian Tan Buddha surrounded by various deities presenting offerings to the Buddha.

Erected in 1993, the Tian Tan Buddha, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, faces north toward mainland China. The statue is modeled after the sculptures found in the Longmen Grottoes, which date from the Northern Wei to early Tang dynasties.

The nearby Po Lin Monastery is considered the “Buddhist World in the South.”

After a tiring walk to see the Buddha, one can enjoy a vegetarian lunch at the vegetarian kitchen next to the monastery. Perhaps you may also see visiting Buddhist monks from other temples.

The vegetarian kitchen serves enough dishes for the amount of people sitting at the table so there is no waste.

The dishes are flavorful and seasoned well. After lunch, you can take a walk to the scenic hiking area called Wisdom Path. Towering over you are 38 monuments of well-known sutras written in Chinese calligraphy. They are arranged in a figure eight pattern, which represents infinity.

After reflecting on the sutras, we headed back to Ngong Ping village to take a local bus to our next stop at Tai-O Village. The overall bus ride took 20-30 minutes.

Tai-O Village (大澳)

Tai-O Village is a historic fishing village home to the Tanka people– who have lived here for generations. Their houses are built on stilts on the sandy banks. Their local markets house dried fish and fresh fruits and vegetables.

At the village, you can try a Hong Kong specialty, egg waffles (雞蛋仔), grilled by a charcoal fire from this local master. They tasted much better than the typical fare at boba chains, such as Quickly.

It takes about 2-3 hours to walk the length of the village. At the end, you can see how the modern buildings clash with the historic ones.

As it neared the evening, we said farewell to the village and took the local bus back to Hong Kong.